Muslims abandon Labour over Iraq war
Labour’s share of the British Muslim vote has fallen by a half since the last general election because of the UK’s role in the Iraq war, according to the results of a special Guardian/ICM poll published today. The ICM survey of the state of public opinion among Britain’s 1.6 million Muslim community was commissioned to mark the start of the Guardian’s week-long coverage of the first anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. The poll shows that Tony Blair has paid a heavy political price for the war among traditionally Labour-voting British Muslims. It reveals strong hostility to Mr Blair personally and Labour support slumping from 75% of Muslim voters at the last general election to only 38% now. Most disillusioned former Labour Muslim voters have switched to the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Full Story